Study: The First State Has One of the Highest Infant Mortality Rate in the U.S.

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Study: The First State Has One of the Highest Infant Mortality Rate in the U.S.

12:00 pm
&nbsp August 8, 2018

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DOVER, DELAWARE – August 8, 2018

Delaware has one of the highest cancer and infant mortality rate in the country, according to a new study from WalletHub.

The state was ranked 47 th when it comes to infant mortality rate, only beating out Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama.

When it comes to cancer rate the First state was ranked 50th. Delaware’s cancer rate — 504 new cases per 100,000 people and well above the national average.

Wallethub analyzed factors like cost of a medical visit, average monthly insurance premium, share of adults who don’t go to the doctor because of cost, quality of the public hospital system and infant-mortality rate to rank each state.

The study — which assesses states and the District of Columbia by cost, access and outcomes — ranked the First State 25th, according to Wallethub.

Among the First state’s lowest rankings are in the categories of Access (39th) and the percent of medical residents retained (49th).

The two main causes of infant mortality are that babies are born prematurely or they don't weigh enough. Often, it's both. Birth defects, injuries, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome are also leading causes. Babies born at a low birth weight - that is, five and half pounds or less - account for more than two-thirds of the state's infant deaths. On top of that, a disturbing racial disparity persists. African-American babies are twice as likely as white babies to be born at a low weight, and thus to die.

According to Sacks, "Almost any bad thing that can happen to a baby - being born early, being born small, dying before you're born, dying within the first 28 days of life, dying before the first year, is one and a half to three times higher for African-Americans. That's incredible."